For 20 seconds Friday, the Leavenworth and Shawnee Mission West football teams stood on equal footing.

Yet, unfortunately for the Pioneers, that was as long as it lasted.

The visiting Vikings returned the opening kickoff to midfield before throwing a 49-yard touchdown bomb. With less than half a minute off the game clock, the Pioneers found themselves down 7-0.

“Oh my gosh, we worked all week on how great they are at running the ball and then they go right over the top to start,” LV coach Kevin Kopecky said. “It was a good call on their part and it’s hard to battle back from.”

When the final 59 minutes and 40 seconds of regulation melted away, Leavenworth had dropped its second straight game by the score of 38-20.

“Our kids played hard in the second half and never quit battling,” Kopecky said. “I’ve never doubted these kids effort-wise, but we have to quit making mistakes. We have to be ready to go at the beginning of the game.”

Following the poor start, the Pioneers answered with a seven-play drive that ended with a Judson Cole 22-yard field goal. Running back Jason Randall keyed the attack with a 52-yard catch and run.

But Leavenworth never got closer than that as West went on to score the next 21 points. The first strike came three minutes after the LV field goal, when the Vikings rushed in a five-yard TD run on fourth down.